In Sermon Illustrations: "He Strives With God"

The Frozen Waterfall  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 9, 2014

THE FROZEN WATERFALL The present day church in America appears to be mostly principle and very little power. We say the right things and believe the right things, but produce very little evidence to confirm what the Bible says. You might say that the modern church is much like a FROZEN ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8-11

Tags: Church, Holy Spirit, Revival, Fire Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Heavenly Home

Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 3, 2014

Daniel Overdorf- One Friday afternoon I struggled to prepare for the weekend. The week’s hectic pace, filled with activities, left me scrambling on Friday to finish my sermon. While I hunched over my desk, unable to develop anything that resembled a sermon, the office phone rang. From the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:13

Tags: Heaven, Heavenly Home, Entering God's Rest

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Is Your Answer To Him?

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 27, 2015

At the beginning of the school year during recess I was on the playground looking for some of my friends. I couldn’t find them. I had two boys come up to me and asked, “Do you need a friend? We want to be your friends?” I said, “No.” Was I mean? No, I just didn’t know them. Through time, we ...read more

Scripture: John 15:13-15

Tags: Jesus' Friends, Friendship With God, Choosing Friends

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Jack Hyles- Back In World War Ii, I Was A Pa...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 19, 2015

Jack Hyles- Back in World War II, I was a paratrooper. I used to jump out of airplanes. We jumped out of airplanes called C-47’s. After the war was over, I got on a plane, and they said, "Welcome aboard Delta Airlines DC-3 plane." I felt at home on that plane. We got up in the air, and I asked ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:9

Tags: Conversion, Turning Point, Turning To God, Turning

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Daily Needs Of Israel In The Wilderness  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 1, 2016

THE DAILY NEEDS OF ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS The 40-year wilderness wandering by Moses and the Israelites must be one of the biggest miracles in the Bible, yet we take it for granted. Think about the metrics of their dire situation: FOOD: God’s people had to be fed daily. Feeding 3 to 3 1/2 ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:14

Tags: Wilderness, Complaining, Unthankfulness, Griping, Faithfulness Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Giving Tithes And Offering To Your Local Church

Contributed by Rev. Vinod Rasaily on Oct 19, 2016

Believers must understand that Church is the backbone of mission and therefore must be faithful in bringing their tithes and offering to their local Church. Some Church goers who live outside of their home town would not commit themselves to support the Church which they are attending, instead they ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 3:10-11

Tags: Tithes And Offering, Christian Giving, Giving To God

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Get Up And Do It

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Nov 15, 2020

Mother Teresa – So many leaders have the idea that to lead greatly you have to focus on everyone. Mother Teresa took a different approach. She saw the poor. The hurt. The dying. And she knew something had to be done. When you know that there’s that many hurting people out there, you might think ...read more

Scripture: Judges 4:1-9

Tags: When God Speaks, Get Up And Do It

Denomination: Independent/Bible

What Is The Bible?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

What is the Bible? "THIS BOOK contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Bible, Truth, Word Of God, Memorize The Scripture

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

10 Reasons To Study The Scriptures

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

TEN REASONS TO STUDY THE SCRIPTURES 1. Will strengthen your personal life (1 John 2:14). 2. Will strengthen your assurance of salvation (1 John 5:13). 3. Will strengthen your confidence in your relationship with God (1 John 5:14). 4. Will undergird the effectiveness of your prayers (John 15:7). 5. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Scripture, Truth, Bible Study, Word Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Meditate On The Lord.

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 18, 2021

Where I was Pastoring at the time I got 5th Sunday off. I had a favorite fishing hole. The water wasn’t very deep so I could wade in the water. That was fun for me. It had big trees that hung over the water and the sun would shine through them and made it look beautiful. It was great, this river ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6

Tags: Life Is Rough, God Teaches To Smooth Us

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Rainbows

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Aug 16, 2008

I saw the greatest rainbow ever coming home from work the other day. Often you see bits of a rainbow or both legs but this was a perfect bow that seemed to stretch from downtown Terrell to downtown Crandall. It was vivid as none before. I was awestruck. Yet, if you looked closely there was a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:38-39

Tags: Nature, Broken, Promises Of God, Storms, Promises  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Someone To Love Me

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Dec 22, 2008

It’s like this child in an orphanage. A man and his wife visited an orphanage where they hoped to adopt a child. In an interview with the boy they wanted, they told him in glowing terms about the many things they could give him – good food, good toys, and nice clothing. To their amazement, the ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Love, Identity, Love For God, Value Of Man

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Keys To Understanding The Parables

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 13, 2022

KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING THE PARABLES Parables provide insight into the nature, coming, growth and of the Kingdom of God. Parables are by design intended to be surprising. They often sneak up on us. Parables are used to simulate thinking and cause the hearer to carefully contemplate what they ...read more

Tags: Teaching, Truth, Preaching, Parables, Kingdom Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Responsiblity To All Living Creatures

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Nov 18, 2022

Genesis 9:1-7 Devotional From Gen. 9:1-3 we note God blessed Noah and his sons. What was the command? – same as for the first man and woman – populate the earth (somewhat of a new beginning) What were given to man in v2? – man was given the responsibility to rule over all other creatures on ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 9:1-7

Tags: People, Nature, God's Love, Responsibilty On Earth

Denomination: Independent/Bible

From Godly To Rebellion?

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Nov 25, 2022

Genesis 10 – 11:9…. Look again at verses 10:5, 20, 31…. and 11:1…. What do you think is the explanation for this? – v32 gives the answer; all came from Noah (with his language, but the 3 sons went to all different areas of the world) The second half of Genesis 11 speaks of Abraham, from the line ...read more

Tags: Evil, God's Love, Rebellion, Godly, Mankind  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Pearl Tree Parable

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 24, 2023

The kingdom of God is like a seed which a woman planted in her garden, and when the time came for the harvest, the tree branches were groaning under the weight of hundreds of large and beautiful pearls which rained down upon everyone who had taken shelter there, and they all became rich beyond ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:31-52

Tags: Fruit, Kingdom Of God, Reward, Hidden Future

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Sun And The Wind

Contributed by Jung Lee on Jan 16, 2024

One day, the Sun and the Wind argued over who was stronger. They see a man walking with a coat and decide to settle their dispute by seeing who can make him remove his coat. The Wind blows fiercely, but the harder it blows, the tighter the man clutches his coat. Then, the Sun gently shines its warm ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 15:1

Tags: Persuade, Fables, God's Warmth, Gentleness, Gentle  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

[019] A Message From A Poem - An Atheist’s Lament

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 22, 2024

[019] A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - AN ATHEIST’S LAMENT I do not know how many nations know what the 1st of April is. In western society it is known as April Fools’ Day and is a time when some play tricks on others. The Day is also known as “All Fools’ Day.” The following is taken from The Editors ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1-2, Ecclesiastes 2:14

Tags: April Fools Day, Fools, Atheists, There Is No God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Doctrine Of Atonement

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 1, 2025

We need to have core beliefs that do not change over time – NO MATTER WHAT! The doctrine of atonement is under attack today. It is attacked by folks who look at humans and see each one as basically good who occasionally do bad things. They talk about each person’s freedom to become your ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:17

Tags: Scripture, Atonement, Authentic, Holy God, Fallen World  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Is There A Difference?  PRO

Contributed by Brian Mavis on Jul 26, 2002

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? In their recent book "Unveiling Islam," Emir and Ergun Caner, former Sunni Muslims cite the major differences between Islam and Christianity as the "personalness" of God, and "grace as opposed to works." "Jesus Christ ... is ultimately personal and wants to have a ...read more

Scripture: John 14:6

Tags: World Religions, God's Forgiveness, Faith Vs. Works

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational